The Organization
by kaleb.mercer
Summary: Hemingway
Caleb Grant

3/10/16

English 4

Optional soundtrack:  watch?v=8unsJEpX1ZE

The Organization

It is always the same, the smell, smell of soap and disinfectant. But also those smells that are there but can't be smelled, death and life. Day after day there are brand new cries of a child and the last breath of a person who meets their end. It is a depressing thought but I can't help it. There isn't much to think about other than my service. I think about how long I have been here, two months now. The doc says its my liver, you only have three more months. I suppose you always hear about this time in one's life, the end… But you never think of your own end until it's at the door. Thinking back it has been quite the life, just like anyone else I have regrets. Especially with my line of work. I don't talk about it much, but since his parents death I think he deserves some kind of explanation. My grandson is about nineteen now and has grown up quite on his own. His parents were constantly on assignment for the organization. Not being able to tell him about their work made the distance between them even greater. He was a good kid but of course not having parents most of the time lead him into trouble. I have been looking after him for about a year. He has been taking care of me since my stay began in this place.

We greet as we always do, a little slower on the hug this time since my liver is bringing me much pain. "How was work?" I ask.

"It was alright" "Tom is at it again trying to get me fired for some stupid reason."

"He works as an editor at a newspaper in the inner city. He always asks me about his parents. Which I can't blame him for, because, well, I am all he has grown up under. He is always respectful and asks all about me before letting his curiosity get the best of him. He helps me to the clean spotless bathroom with my shaking legs. My hospital gown allows a breeze to wrap my scared back. "Where did you get these scars?" he asks reluctantly. "There are so many that I don't even remember."

He stays to eat with me and when we finish I begin one of my stories just like I always do. He is such a curious one, so I like to tell him about my service in the organization.

" _There was a knock at the door and he moved away from me to open it. All around me are bloody instruments some with my blood and some with the dried blood of others. The man with the scar over his left eye walks in, and just as before he has wrapped his knuckles. He asks me many questions beating me as he continues. I am of course used to it so I take a lot before he leaves for a break. he should have checked my hand… I have been rubbing the piece of sharp metal on the leg of the chair to my leg restraint. Once my leg is free I work on the rest of my limbs and stand up. I feel a bit dizzy but know that if I don't get out now I probably won't ever leave. I wait for the guard to come in to check on me and I throw my arms around his throat, I know when he is unconcious. Grab his keys and I am in the hall stealthily roaming the corridors, as I think back to my mission: retrieve the data and get out. I remember the blueprints of the building and find the server room and the data. Leaving down the staircase… the alarm sounds… guards burst through the door on the floor under me. Up.. Up I go… but where… the roof maybe, yes the building is by a river. I can survive the jump I think. On the roof I am running to the edge, and I jump. I didn't notice the sting until after I hit the water, the bullet must have caught me as I lept off the roof." "Where did that bullet catch you?" philip asks. I show him my left shoulder, it is a nasty scar from where I pulled the bullet out myself. "I do admit not the best idea to perform surgery on yourself but that is what it is like sometimes in the field."_

"I know, I know, it's dangerous in the field but I won't ever join the organization."

I wish your father had felt that way. He wanted to be just like me. But now look at hi…" Philip looks at the floor so i decide to move on. Philip looks up at me and says "I know you usually only tell me one story but could you maybe tell me another today please?"

"I suppose so" I say.

" _Must've been about twenty five at this point, it had been six years since I joined the organization. It was hot and the moisture in the air was very high in the Lacandon jungle. I and my partner have been tasked to infiltrate the corrupt military base somewhere in south america. We Parachuted in from one of our modified aircrafts. We must camp out tonight in the forest and then three hours before first light we will move in on the base."_

" _Was it scary in the dark?"_

 _He knows how I fear the darkness. "well when I landed I couldn't see my partner anywhere. It must have been the wind that took their parachute about a mile off target. I need to find him but the sun is down and it is darker than the souls of the beasts that I know are around me, I feel many eyes on me. I need light. I try to calm down and remember my training. I light the flair that I pull from my pack. The light explodes in the dark forest, and several animals flee as the light shows them. I must start my walk to the rendezvous point, but I am too afraid to move continue through the darkness. I lay down next to a tree and except that this could be the end, but that's fine. I remember my life and how I will be okay with death it's strange I feel like I almost welcome it. The loud sounds of the jungle fill my ears. The creeping of the night animals and the eerie noise that fills the void of darkness. I am awake and the dark is no longer surrounding me. I need to get to my partner._

 _By the time I make it to the rendezvous point I discover they have been waiting for hours. I feel embarrassed that I let the night disturb my mission. "No matter" they say to me "the mission must go on." They were right we needed to infiltrate the facility and bring back evidence of their corruption. We continue to the base and get in with a breeze. We only ran into problems when we gathered the evidence and it was time to get out. Our organization was to send someone to pick us up near the front gate of the base. But when we got there, there was no one to be found and we are seen by the sniper on the roof and he yells to his companions and the alarm sounds. It was a trap the whole time, we have been betrayed by the organization and we need to get out. We sprint to the motor pool of the base and I still remember how to hot wire army trucks so we are speeding through the base in no time. Being shot at is nothing new to us, after all, we have been doing this for several years. We are almost to the end of the security check points and suddenly my partner catches a bullet to the upper back. Since I am driving I can only lend one hand to help with the bleeding but I fear it isn't enough to save them. My partner bleed out before we reach a small town nearby. I am hunted now so I need to move no time to bury them but that's what this line of work gets you I guess. I am sad but my fear needs to be greater because I'm on the run now. I make my way to another small town across the continent in a matter of weeks. And in a few months I make my way back to the US. My old life as I know it is over, and it is time to avoid the organization."_

"So Philip, listen well." I say as he looks at me with care. "You must never join this organization, and just live your life as a free man." His demeanor changes as he begins to say "then I am sorry! Because i started working for the organization three months ago."


End file.
